The club of Five weaves its links
(BRUSSELS2) Ties are forged between the defense ministers of Weimar+ (France, Germany, Poland, Italy and Spain). While the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union is meeting on the 19th with some very hot issues on their table — Syria, Mali, Middle East... — (details on The Club) — the Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs of the five countries concerned meet Thursday in Paris, in conclave, invited by their French counterparts, Laurent Fabius and Jean-Yves Le Drian.
A first before a European meeting
Usually, there were often bilateral meetings (cf. JY Le Drian's tour), or joint initiatives; rarely such a comprehensive initiative. This shows that consultation is beginning between these countries. We will have to wait before saying "that it is deepening" or even talking about "structured cooperation". But this cooperation is not without importance at the political and economic level, as well as operationally. Even without the United Kingdom, the five represent half of the military expenditure of the European Union and, above all, almost 60% of the European population. Or a quasi-majority (if we take into account the principle of qualified majority) in the Council. Or at least a sufficient majority to be able to stimulate the Council differently. Everyone also knows that tomorrow its national resources will be reduced. Defense ministers can do nothing against their finance counterparts. And the deposit is to the economy... This tomorrow can be quite fast in some countries. According to the information communicated to B2, the level of training of the air forces (number of flying hours per year) or even the maritime forces (number of days at sea) already seems below the NATO standard in Italy. And it could be quickly in Spain. Cooperation could thus be accelerated in terms of training or education.
Challenge: restoring trust
The stakes of this meeting are therefore multiple. It is first of all a question of arriving at a certain consensus between the five but above all of eliminating any conflict, contradiction, even irritation. By arriving together, the five have a better chance of winning. We thus know that certain partners were particularly annoyed by the turn taken by the Franco-British alliance, in particular the Italians and Germans, but also the Poles. This irritation is all the more sensitive as the question of budget cuts is now hitting defense budgets hard, particularly in Spain and Italy.
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